Before Pangaea– What? — Science News, September 30, 1972

The continents as we understand them resulted when the protocontinent Pangaea disintegrated and its pieces made the long sluggish journey to their present positions. The procedure took about200 million years. The Earth’s crust is an approximated 4.5 billion years old … [ Researchers are checking out] the bewildering issue of what went on throughout the billions of years prior to Pangaea went to pieces.

Update

The continents have an on-again, off-again relationship that has actually existed given that well prior to Pangaea, fossil and rock proof programs. Many researchers concur that the earliest recognized supercontinent, called Nuna, formed around 1.5 billion years back. It disintegrated and reunited as the supercontinent Rodinia about 1 billion years earlier. A 3rd supercontinent called Pannotia might have formed approximately 600 million years back near the South Pole, however its presence is discussed. Today, researchers are anticipating how continents will combine in the future. A supercontinent called Amasia might form 250 million years from now as the continents wander towards the North Pole ( SN: 1/21/17, p. 18).